Is It Worth Paying $50 for the Centurion Lounge?
I’m still a bit of a novice when it comes to the life of airline lounges and the like, so compared to the Gary Leffs, Jeanne Hoffmans, and Keri Andersons of the world my tastes are probably a bit pedestrian (oh, look! Their chicken is sweet and sour!). Recently, I spent the day in Dallas and had a long wait between the end of an afternoon engagement and a flight home to Birmingham. That meant a long afternoon stretching into the evening at DFW. I’d read Mommy Points on the Centurion Lounge at DFWÂ and was considering dropping in. Then I read where Gary Leff asked whether it may be the best lounge in America and decided to definitely give it a try.
I was not disappointed.
From massage services to an excellent buffet of southwestern soups, tacos, enchiladas, and salads to truly excellent service to the little gift bag featuring fruity soaps and lotions and the like, it was absolutely first-rate (disclaimer: my only other experience with airport lounges comes from Delta Sky Clubs and a multi-airline club in Stockholm). Even though I’ve never been in an American Airlines Admirals’ Club, I’m pretty sure that given my willingness to part with $50 for internet access, peace and quiet, and food, I made the right choice. That holds even though the Centurion Club is in Terminal D and I’m flying out of Terminal A. I have another two hours before I really even need to think about going to my gate, so I have plenty of time.
I’m not usually one to drop big bills on luxury, but I’m coming to appreciate the value of doing so more and more. Today started with a 5:00 AM drive to the airport, a flight from BHM-DFW and continued with a 45-minute cab ride, a talk, a ride back to a hotel/conference center near DFW courtesy of my host at Southern Methodist University, a speech at a livestock producers’ convention, and then a ride back to the airport. At 6’5″ or 6’6″, I don’t fit in plane seats particularly well, and I tweaked my back and neck yesterday morning. The prospect of a massage was certainly alluring, and again, I wasn’t disappointed. The massage was included in the price of access, and it was even better than what I usually get from the TSA when I’m going through security.
So how good has this been? I’ll put it this way. I’m going to try to switch from my Delta Reserve Card to a Platinum AMEX ASAP, and I’ll admit it’s a bit tempting to look for future flights with layovers in Dallas when I’m headed out west. Obviously, it’s not worth $50 a pop for short layovers, but if you have to spend a few hours at DFW, it’s totally worth it.
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Funny thing, I was in the LAS Centurion club on Sunday and asked for Champagne. They said the French Champagne was reserved for TRUE Centurion cardholders, but they could serve me Italian prosecco.
It was like, “Thanks for the nice experience with the lounge, but not so much for the backhanded slap over something so petty. What the heck is that about?
Probably they serve some rancid garbage to begin with. Should have gone with the prosecco1
I agree that it’s only worth the $50, if you can spend at least 4+ hours in the lounge. This goes for the Centurion Lounge at LAS as well.
I was in the Centurion Lounge at DFW today. LOVED it, but I don’t think I would have spent $50 to get in.
I’m going next week 😀
Don’t waste your time at the AA club. I am simply very disappointed with clubs in America. Period. In Asia I get the food, the drinks, and even ice cream free. No payments for food like in the AA club. I think Americans have no idea what the rest of the world offers as normal fare in lounges.
I probably wouldn’t have paid $50 to get into the Centurion Lounge at DFW today, but after my first visit I would have paid double that for my entry with a guest. First of all, I got to meet celebrity chef Dean Fearing who caters the food and cocktails. The hand-crafted top shelf cocktails are really fantastic and the food was really top-notch above any US lounge food (including those lounges that charge for food items).
At 3pm today it was absolutely PACKED, but there seems to have been a special event at the lounge that had it well over capacity. The showers were pleasant, but unfortunately the one of two showers was closed as someone had already broken the shower somehow. Looking forward to many returns to this lounge as I’m based in Dallas.